11/12/2016
God Hears Your Mother's HeartWhen my kids were little, I decided that every year on their birthday I would write them a letter. I tried to remember special things about their year then told them all about their birthday celebration and what they were like at that age. I also told them my prayers for them. I would tuck each letter away in my special box, thinking about the day they would have their own kids and I would give them their letters. It seemed so far away at the time. This year I was able to give Michael his on his birthday and Andrea hers on her birthday and just recently gave Jessica hers for her upcoming birthday. Through the years there have been struggles. There were times I felt like I was failing or wasn't a good enough mom. I would pray and cry and sometimes wonder what I was doing wrong. Then pray some more. There were times I thought my girls hated me. There were times I worried my kids would grow up and not have close relationships with each other because of how badly they fought. I re-read all the letters this morning and I cried. It was like living all those moments again. The precious, innocent love your kids have for you when they are young and then some of the heart aches that come in their pre-teen and high school years and how quickly things can change. I remember wishing at times that I could just go back to when my kids were so little they truly believed that mom was their everything and couldn't wait to snuggle with her at the end of the day. When I read those letters today, God showed me something very dear. He showed me that even when I felt like I was failing, He was listening. When I wrote my prayers to my children, He heard them. That there was a lesson to be learned in every moment that I lived, and that someday He would show me the good in every one of those moments. Mom, no matter the age of your children, never stop praying for them. God hears your mother's heart. Your children need you but more importantly, they desperately need your prayers. Even when we feel like we can't get it right, there's such a peace to be had in the assurance that~He can.
10/22/2016
The One Who Holds That FutureCan you imagine the feeling of giving birth to a son, knowing that there was a law that all male babies were to be killed? Put your mind there for a minute ladies. Trying to hush your newborn's cries and hold them close as long as possible until you realized you couldn't hide them anymore. And then watching as that precious, helpless infant was placed in a tiny boat and floated down a river, out of sight. To have faith in God at that point would be an understatement. What about seeing rain for the first time as you sit in a massively huge boat, wondering what will become of you and your children as the waters rise higher and higher and everything you have ever known has disappeared under them? I can't imagine being barren for years and begging God for a child and when He answers, having the faith and trust to leave that child with someone else, believing God would take care of the treasure I had prayed for for years. How about having my young son tell me that he was about to go fight against a giant two times his size (that every other man in the army was afraid to fight) but not to worry, because God had his back? And the biggest awe moment for me is trying imagine being told that I was going to give birth to a Son who would be the Savior of the world. God is still God. He is our great God, the God of the Bible. He is in control. Yes this election has to be the very worst in our country's history. Does our future seem scary? Yes, it does. I'm not going to sugar coat it. My heart wants to worry and fret about the future of these precious grand children and what they will be faced with ten years from now. I want to hold them tight just like BaPa is in this picture, and never let go. But my God is still on the throne. He is my God of miracles and I will continually pray that He gives me the faith I need to trust in Him and the future He has for me and for my kids and for my grandkids. Moses mother, Noah's wife. Samuel's mom and David's. Mary. How did they do it? They knew their God. Their Heavenly Father. They talked to Him, they spent time with Him and in turn He gave them the peace that passes understanding and the comfort to know it would be ok. That doesn't mean they weren't scared. I'm sure they were scared out of their minds, but they believed. They had faith. I often hear the phrase "now more than ever we need to pray for our nation". Honestly, why haven't we been praying all along? From that first joyful moment we learn our child is on the way, our prayers should be fervent for them. In the book The Practice of the Presence of God, the writer speaks about the amount of sin and unhappiness in the world and the extremes to which the enemy is capable of going. But what spoke to me most was in this statement~ ....he had a peace because he knew that God could rectify the situation in a moment if He willed it. Whatever our future holds, our prayers should be lifted up to the One who held that tiny boat, the One who made an ark float. The One who cared for a tiny child and helped a young boy defeat a giant. The One who gave us His only Son. The One who holds that future in His hands.
9/10/2016
No Request Is Too Big Or Too Small"There is no sweeter manner of living in the world than continuous communion with God."
A while back a friend of mine asked for my thoughts on starting a private Facebook group specifically for prayer. I thought it was an awesome idea and throughout this year, week after week with each devotional I share, my heart has become even more burdened about our need to pray for one another. As I scroll through Facebook day by day and read the posts of so many of the people I hold most dear to me, my heart is almost bursting at the desire to pray continually for all of you. I know that I have posted about prayer before but I truly feel God laying this on my heart. WE NEED PRAYER. We need to pray for each other. Knowing that others are praying for your needs or your heartache, your health concerns or your future~ that brings a peace and a comfort that nothing else will. Because of HIM. Whispering a loved ones name up to God as you scroll through your feed would not take any time at all, imagine if we all did this? I have been reading a book called The Practice of the Presence of God. That's where my quotes have come from today. It's just a small book but has such a huge message. "During your meals, or during any daily duty, lift your heart up to Him, because even the least little remembrance will please Him. You don't have to pray out loud; He's nearer than you can imagine." That's just so amazing to think about. The God who created this huge world, down to the tiniest detail loves us with a love that is indescribable and wants us to talk to Him. So ladies, let's start today. Let's lift each other up to our Savior. My desire would be that we can start on this page. There are 146 of us. If you have a burden, a heartache, a health issue, whatever it might be~ just comment below. No scrolling through Facebook needed if we share our needs with each other here. Don't ever think your burden is silly and please don't ever carry your burden alone dear friend. "If the vessel of our soul is being tossed by winds or storms, we should wake the Lord who has been resting with us all along, and He will swiftly calm the sea." No request is too big or too small for my God. How can we pray for you? 💗
8/20/2016
Lean On God. Lean On OthersBack in 1985 Mike and I took a little marriage survey of the top 10 things that cause stress in a marriage and I think we hit the first 5. We were moving 900 miles away from home and family. Newlyweds with a baby on the way. I was 20 yrs old and I'll be honest, I cried most of the way there. I would've followed Mike to the ends of the earth but back then there were no cell phones or texting to talk to mom and long distance calls cost so much. I went from relying on my mom and dad for everything to relying on Mike. I would throw God in for good measure, but I didn't rely on Him like I should. I was homesick and felt alone. Fast forward to 2016. I decided to dig that book out yesterday and take that survey again. With everything that has happened in the last few months, we had way over half of the stress inducers in our lives. The book claimed that if we scored over 300 we were at the highest risk of being hospitalized due to stress. Our score was 342, but today I'm not crying. I'm not stressed. I have such peace. I don't feel alone. My great God has carried us through this, and ladies it's because of you. It's because of the one prayer that you lifted up to our Savior asking for help and healing for Mike and I. Because of those who asked God to give me the peace that passes understanding. Because of those that quickly said "please be with Mike and Charisse". We feel your prayers. Every single one, every single day. The first day I asked for prayer for Mike my post reached over 5,000 people. That was so overwhelming. Even if half of those people said a quick prayer for us, that's still overwhelming!! My challenge is so simple. Don't just tell someone on Facebook you are praying. Read their heartfelt request, stop right then and ask God to help your friends. Be that one that prays. Even one prayer would mean the world to them. It will not only bless them, it will bless your heart as well. So many of us are going through things that seem too hard for us to handle. Let's let each other know that we are praying and Gods got this. Sometimes it makes a world of difference to know that others have your back and they are praying for you, even if it's only the ladies that follow this page. Don't go it alone. Lean on God and lean on others. What a precious thought it is to know so many are praying on our behalf and that our great God hears and answers!! "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil 4:7
7/30/2016
How Quickly Life Can ChangeI wrote this post on Thursday while I was waiting for the surgery to be over. Praise the Lord all went well and now we just wait to see what God has planned for his vision.
How quickly life can change within a week's time. Last week I was working on my daughter's wedding dress when I posted on my ladies page and this week I am sitting in a hospital waiting for my husband to get out of a surgery that we had no idea he would be having. All the little things I wanted to finish before the wedding seem so trivial to me now. Retina detachment surgery is not a life or death procedure but your mind can tend to think about things like that when your signing forms concerning anesthesia. When your husband is giving you instructions on the drive down "just in case". When you kiss him as they wheel him away for surgery. As I lay in bed last night with my best friend sleeping next to me, I prayed and thought about many things. I thought about this post and I wondered if I could sum up my feelings in one word. The first word that came to my mind was grateful. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I thought about everyone that was praying for us. I feel that my words can't even come close to describing how thankful I am. I'm so grateful for all of you, all the prayers and the outpouring of love. I'm so grateful for a God who hears us even when we can't utter a word. Our awesome God who can hear the prayer of thousands at the same time and our God of all comfort who makes me feel even now as if He is carrying me through with a peace that passes understanding. I know everything is going to be okay because no matter what, my Savior will be holding Mike in His arms. And I am grateful. 💗
7/16/2016
PersistenceWhat is it about grand babies and the crazy love grandparents have for them? Maybe it's because when we were younger we were so busy "living" that before we knew it our own babies were grown and had babies of their own. And maybe it's then that we realize how quickly time goes by and we cherish each and every minute we have with their babies. God is continually showing me His love through them. The Bible tells me that if our earthly fathers (or grandfathers) love us and want to give us good things, just imagine how much more our Heavenly Father wants to. I couldn't help but think about this the other day. As my daughter Andrea was cleaning, she overheard little Ethan. She turned to see him talking on his play phone. She asked who he was talking to and he told her BaPa. (Mike) He continually asked BaPa if he could come to our house. The little guy didn't give up. Andrea thought it was so cute that she recorded him and sent it to us. Well of course it melted BaPa's heart and he walked down with his other two grand babies to pick up Ethan so he could play here. The Bible tells us that we should have faith like a child. When BaPa knocked on the front door, Ethan wasn't surprised at all that he came. He shouted "BaPa's here!" before Andrea even opened the door. And he was thrilled. He knew BaPa answered his call! What a lesson that teaches us. To have a faith like that in the God who created us. Our Father. To know how deeply He loves us despite our childish ways. To call out to Him over and over and know that it doesn't frustrate Him or drive Him crazy and to know He will answer. To be thrilled to come into His house and to spend time with Him. Don't ever limit God. He is the Father of all miracles and His love for us cannot be measured. Don't ever lose your faith in Him. When you have prayed and prayed and prayed and you feel like God is not answering, don't lose your faith. Think about little Ethan and his persistence and how it melted a human father's heart and then think about the Father who gave everything for you, for your eternal life. And ask again. He will answer. He will come. He will make a way.
4/30/2016
The Best HabitI want to read more of the bible but I'm sitting here watching my third TV program. I want a better marriage but sometimes my husband can drive me crazy. I want to eat healthier but I'm craving that candy bar so bad. I want to have a better prayer life but I just don't have time. Nothing worth having in life comes easy. A great marriage takes work. Exercising and having better eating habits take work and the Christian life takes work. I want to apologize for my long posts. I understand this is social media. I understand that most times we are doing two things at once. Flipping through Facebook in the evening while watching TV or before we go to sleep at night. Too tired to read something long that someone posts. We are a generation of people that have technology at our fingertips, life is faster and we don't want to slow down. I think that too often we tend to be this way with our time with God. We don't take the time. We want God to be there for us when we cry and pray during hard times but we ignore him in our every day lives and think that if we spend a few minutes reading a long devotional like this one we have done our spiritual duty for the week. We make excuses. Ladies- we make the time for what we think is important in our lives. That might be 3 hours of TV at night, it might be exercising, it might be decorating your home, working on a craft or shopping till we drop. Whatever takes your time away from time you haven't spent with God that day is never worth it. I realize some of you truly are super busy and I'm not saying if you spend time with God your life will be easy but let me tell you ladies- when life gets hard and you know you've been talking to the King of Kings that very morning and that He is right there with you helping you through, it sure makes a world of difference. I don't know why I reach for that candy bar and eat it when I know deep down it is only a fleeting comfort and will make me feel worse in the morning just like I don't know why there are times I choose to shut off my alarm instead of getting up and spending time with my Savior. I know in my heart that when I do it trumps that extra half hour of sleep every time. Choose to make good habits in your life but don't leave out the best habit to start making- spending time with the Savior who loves you more than anything or anyone.
4/16/2016
It's Okay To Ask For PrayerI'm not really the healthiest person. It's always bothered me. I wanted to be one of those moms full of energy who played with their kids non stop, kept a spotless home, cooked amazing meals and still worked out like a champ every day. So not me. I've had stomach problems since I was in high school. I was hospitalized and went through so many tests and so much waiting. For years. I eventually found out it was Celiac disease, but not until Michael was a senior in high school. I've had cysts on my ovaries that Drs thought were cancerous. More waiting. I've had so many mammograms with bad results and biopsies and more waiting. I had migraines every month that lasted for a week and sometimes longer. I've had a hysterectomy due to a small mass on my uterus that looked cancerous. I've had mono 4 times and combined with the Celiac, I now have chronic fatigue. I said all that to say this. I have had a lot of scares when it comes to my physical body. A lot of waiting on test results. A lot of crying and asking God what was wrong with me. A lot of nights laying in bed in the quiet darkness wondering if I might possibly die very soon. All of this might sound so trivial in light of what others are actually faced with physically on a daily basis, but in that moment of waiting time can seem to stand still and worry can creep in. In times of waiting I have had to put my trust completely in my Savior. I have had to ask Him to comfort my heart, to hold me in His arms, to help me not to worry. It hasn't always been easy but every time I have cried out to Him, He has given me His comfort. He has given me a peace in my heart that no matter what, He was in control and He loved me and everything would be ok, even if that meant cancer and dying. I have many friends right now who are waiting. Waiting on your own test results or those of a loved one. I have been through scares recently with my own children of waiting. I also know that sometimes ladies like to keep things private, but can I encourage you to reach out and ask your fellow sisters for prayer? I know it's because of the prayers of others that I could go through the situations I have been in with a peace in my heart. I could feel your prayers. If you have been through a time of waiting in your own life, reach out to those who are going through it now. Let them know you understand, that you love them and you are praying for them. We need each other. I desperately need prayer on a daily basis. I truly believe the things we face can be used for God's glory. They can help us draw closer to Him and they can help us to have a more compassionate heart towards others. We all need compassion. In times of desperation, we all need that peace that passes understanding and the knowledge that others love us, understand and are praying. If you are waiting today, please know that God is with you. Allow Him to hold you and when you feel that you can't take another step, allow Him to carry you. And know that you are loved and you are prayed for.
3/12/2016
Praying For Their FutureI can remember when my children were little, like it was yesterday. There are moments that I wish I could just go back for one day in their life when they were younger and hold them tight again. My little babies. I remember older women telling me how quickly time goes by, how they won't be little forever and to cherish the moments with them. And I thought I was, but now that I'm 50 I wish I had so many more baby moments to stop and cherish with them again. My last baby, Kathryn is getting married in August. Time does go by fast and it's going by even faster with my grandchildren. I remember sitting in this very house, listening to Kathryn talk to me in her little baby voice, not understanding half of what she said and how she would look up at me and smile and hug me. I used to wonder what it would be like to talk to her as an adult, what she would be like and how fun it would be. Now Jessica's babies are here in this same house, every day. Clara, the same age Kathryn was when we moved here, with the same color hair, talking to grandma. Half of which I don't understand, smiling and snuggling. And the joy of seeing Ellie get off of grandpa's school bus at the door and run to me and hug me and how every single day out of the blue she will say "grandma, I love you" Now I get to see Andrea's boys, little Ethan running down the street towards grandma's house with his huge smile, so proud of how quickly his little legs are taking him, towing his daddy along side. Baby Gabe trying to eat off his mama's spoon, in all his precious, chubby sweetness. I used to imagine my grand babies laughing as they ran up and down in our new church foyer. And just like that, now they are. And I am soaking these moments in. Trying to memorize their little faces and every minute with them. Just like I did with my babies. I love this season in my children's lives just as much. My daughters are my best friends (besides my Mike) and I'm so proud of the man and husband my son has become. What I have learned is not only to cherish each moment but to pray every single day for your child. You may have days like I do where you would love to hold them again. You may have days when you are holding them and wish you could never let them go. But we have to. They are only on loan from God, and we have to strive to raise them as He would see fit. To try to envision them as an adult and the heart ache that might come their way but also the amazing moments. To pray for all of this, asking God to be with them every step they take with every decision they make and don't ever stop praying, even after they are married and have their own children. They will always be your babies no matter how old they get. A mother never stops worrying about her children. She never stops hurting when they are hurting or crying with joy over the happy moments they experience. So pray mom. Pray for protection for your child, not just physically but also spiritually and emotionally. Pray for wisdom to know their hearts. Pray for their future, even if they are still inside your womb. Give your child over to Christ and never stop praying for them in every season of their life. If God gives me 100 years, I will still call out to Him for my children and their children's children. Don't take a single moment for granted and don't let a day go by that you don't bring them before the Savior in prayer. ❤️
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